Serving God and One Another
We cannot serve God if we do not follow Him – we will not follow Him if we do not love Him as He loves us – this is literal, not figurative or metaphorical.
God not only invites us but desires for us to love our life in Him more than we love our life in this world.
We can’t love this world more than we love God. If we do, we cannot give Him what He desires – He desires our whole heart – He wants our service to Him and to His Kingdom. We left last week with a great deal of clarity about how Christ reveals Himself to us so that we can become who He wants us to be – being must always precede doing. Serving reveals to us who we are not what we are supposed to do. Serving God and His people will never be solely about what we do, it will always be about who we are. Yes, eventually what we do for Christ will make a difference, and yet, will actually serve a greater purpose. That purpose is to reveal who we are in Christ Jesus – we are servants of the most High God, serving the Master. This is more significant than simply finding our self-worth by doing good deeds – this is discovering the “WHY” and not settling for just knowing “WHAT”.
That is the key to serving God and one another. Here is a truth that we all should know.
You and I can never do enough to repay God for all He has done for us, and we will never be able to do enough to make others like, love, or to be happy with us. But make no mistake, we can become who He has called us to be in Christ Jesus.
Anytime at any church when they begin to talk about serving God and others, there is a supernatural phenomenon that takes place. All of a sudden most shake their heads and then miraculously say, “I’m so sorry, we are just so very busy, and just do not have the time to add one more thing to our life right now” …awkward pause, “we agreed as a family to be committed to maintaining a healthy work-life balance.” Now that is a great answer, and one that certainly has some merit and even hints of Biblical principle to it. However, when a genuinely right and righteous inventory of time, capacity, and bandwidth is actually taken, most can see that there are choices made each day that could free up time for ministry and service in God’s Kingdom.
Here is a quick example of the “time-capacity-bandwidth” argument. Go to your settings icon on your smart device and scroll down the Menu and select the Screen Time icon. There you will find how many hours this last week you used your time investing or serving the apps, information, and entertainment from your technology. So if you and I can say (without crossing our fingers or knocking on wood) that we honestly have no time available to serve God and His people, then fine – all is good then, and without guilt, shame, or condemnation, I say, “be blessed and be prosperous”! But, and sometimes that is a “big but” if we say absolutely have no time in our life to become servants of God, we need to be prepared to hear another truth. If we cannot serve God with our time, in reality, we have no life. (Take a moment)
Let’s move forward out of that and into this. Here is an example from Jesus, regarding who God says that we are called to be.
Matthew 5:14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ESV
This text (verses) is the red-letter words of Jesus speaking a literal truth, in a metaphorical context. As with most literal truth in Scripture, it is a circular continuum – a continuous sequence of starting and finishing at the same place, beginning and yet never-ending. This is not a mind game; it is a paradoxical reality with God’s literal and objective Word – even when using metaphors such as light, lamps, and cities on a hill. His Word will last forever, and just when we think, believe, or proclaim it to be ending it is actually just beginning. This passage in Matthew’s Gospel is a perfect illustration of how that circular continuum should be understood.
We shine to serve others. When we serve others, we shine. When we shine, we give glory to God. When we give glory to God, we are able to stand and withstand the evil one. When we stand and withstand, we shine. …(continue)
We shine to serve others. When we serve others, we shine. And when we shine, we give glory to God, and we stand.
Jesus said that He was the light of the world. He also said He came not to “be served” but rather “to serve” and to give His life as a ransom for many.
So, His example and desire for us is to follow His template – a serving servant, an eternal flame, a light in the darkness, give your life to save a life, and so on.
In that same conversation, Jesus added this…
“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave…” ESV
As a final passage revealing who we are in Christ, let’s consider that in serving God and in serving one another, we fulfill and complete a divine purpose with our lives both in the here and now and in the hereafter. Listen to this powerful word from Peter’s epistle.
1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” ESV
To interpret this passage, we begin with its context. Peter the apostle, now an intensely and impassioned informer and influencer of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – a servant of His Lord and Messiah.
1 Peter 2:16
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
A Historical Conclusion – When Serving God Costs Something
In Germany in 1930, there was a population of 62 million people. Of those 62 million, 48 million were people who confessed faith in God, or professed themselves to Christianity as their religion of preference. Of the 48 million people professing Christian faith, there were 18,000 pastors leading 18,000 Protestant (75%) and Catholic (25%) Churches in Germany.
In December of 1933, a weak, senile, and compromised President Hindenburg named 43-year-old Adolphus Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. On August 19, 1934, Hitler easily unseated Hindenburg, and was elected by populous vote as President of Germany. Thereby creating in Hitler an unprecedented and historic consolidation of power over the Government, Military, and Civil and Social Services of the nation of Germany.
However, history is clear that this election and abuse of power could likely have been avoided. Hitler could have been stopped or at least greatly weakened were it not for the apathy and disinterest of the 48 million Christians who attended the 18 thousand Churches throughout Germany. In their passive silence and unwillingness to courageously serve God and His Church during a historic time of absolute moral and faith crisis, they empowered one of the most evil and sadistic murderers known to the modern world.
Here is what happened to the 18 thousand Protestant Christian churches after Hitler took power.
Three thousand churches were led by pastors who aligned themselves with the Nazi Party – combining Christianity and National Socialism. They voted to form a “new” German Christian Church, led by Ludwig Muller who would become the Reich Bishop. 80% of the Christians who attended these churches voted for Adolph Hitler to become President of Germany. They were controlled by Hitler’s government – the pastors preached Naziism, Anti-Semitism, superior race theory, and Christianity, in their pulpits and in their children’s and youth programs. The youth groups launched the “stormtroopers for Jesus” movement and were known as Hitler Youth.
Another three thousand churches formed a radical alliance known as the Confessing Church of Germany. The pastors preached righteous resistance and civil disobedience to Hitler, Naziism, and the National Socialist Party. The Confessing Church was led by men such as Martin Neimoller, Deitrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth, and others. Their slogan was “The Church Must Remain the Church.” Neimoller fell to the intimidation and pressure of Hitler and, in a public forum, signed a letter of support for Hitler. Privately, he was so grieved and shamed by his actions that the next day, he made a public statement denouncing his actions and support of Hitler. Within several months he would be imprisoned in the concentration and remain there for the next eight years. From 1934 to 1944, just before the end of WWII, nearly all of the three thousand pastors of the Confessing Church were either imprisoned in concentration camps or executed for their resistance to Hitler and the Third Reich. In serving God, they refused to bow to this world’s value systems and it was costly.
The remaining twelve thousand Protestant Christian churches in Germany positioned themselves somewhere in the middle of the German Christian Church and the Confessing Church of Germany. About 7,000 of the pastors leaned towards the Confessing Church but were not willing to step forward in public support and resistance of Hitler and the Nazi party. Another 5,000 pastors leaned more toward the Hitler-controlled German Christian Church, but again were not willing to publicly support Hitler’s Gestapo-led methods and the murder of millions of Jews. Ironically, it was this apathetic and non-committed group who turned the tide for Hitler to be elected as President in the election of 1934. Just over 80% of these Christians voted to elect and empower Alolphus Hitler as President of Nazi Germany.
This kind of comparative illustration can make many Christians uncomfortable and frightened. That is not the point, and then again, it is precisely the point. Becoming who God has called us to be has significance and meaning sometimes far beyond what we have right and righteously taught and preached to God’s people. We have not equipped the Church of Jesus with Biblical truth and an understanding of the true call of the disciples of Jesus to follow – serving God and His Kingdom. Serving God, His Church, and His people is the highest and greatest calling we will ever know or experience. To serve Him, to become who He has called us to become, comes with great sacrifice, determination, courage, and righteous intent.
Read more from the “Where Do You Sit? Where Do You Serve?” sermon series by Dr.Stephen Isaac HERE.